Could it be? A Linux-based OS actually makes an appearance on Fox News? Amazing stuff.
Consumer Reports does the occasional VNR in conjunction with Fox News, doing their usual comparison
and rating of various products and services. My local Fox affiliate airs these during the 10 o'clock
news, which I usually have on in the background while I'm hard at work clearing out my spam folder.
Last night, I was torn away from my computer screen, to look at the Lindows desktop being discussed
on Consumer Reports' review of low-cost PCs.
Of course, what do you expect from the mainstream media? Exactly what we got:
- Lindows isn't Windows, so you're not running Windows if you buy it.
- Lindows doesn't ship with tons of bundled apps like a Windows PC does
- Adding a printer is difficult
- The digital camera they tested didn't work immediately
Of the four main complaints, I would say the first two are primarily marketing hurdles that the Linux
movement must eventually overcome (and I believe it can happen). Once I suppress my urge to dismiss the
second two complaints as the reviewer not trying hard enough :-) I have to admit they are also valid.
I have yet to try Lindows, but apparently the printer adding is, as you would expect, Linux-ish. There
is nothing that just says "Add a Printer", though I suspect there will be something like that soon. Gotta
love competition and feedback huh?
The bit about the digital camera- they didn't elaborate on it enough for me to even guess if they could
get it to work or not with a little more effort, but again, the reviewer is probably an average PC
user, trying to comprehend what in his mind is a pale imitation of the Real Windows. His mindset
was no doubt geared to finding the ways Lindows is similar or dissimilar to "normal" operating systems
like Windows.
Now the marketer in me steps in, reminding myself that any coverage is good coverage. Linux isn't fighting a competitive
battle over quality. At this stage, it's purely about mindshare and awareness. While Linux is widely known
among advanced computer users and savvy businesspeople, believe me, the number of average people (what corporate types call "consumers") that have heard about it is probably less than half of what you think it is, maybe less.
Most people I talk to don't even consider the possibility that computers can operate in ways different than Windows provides... what's an operating system? "Oh, you mean Windows." Sigh...
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